The Australian Open is continuing with its virtual and digital ambitions.
Previously, the Australian Open has released NFTs in commemoration of the tournament, and even collaborated with Fortnite for large-scale gaming events.
Now, the Australian Open has created its very own Roblox game named ‘AO Adventure’, which is essentially a virtual map of Melbourne Park.
For those who aren’t in the know about the latest in gaming, Roblox is an online game platform that allows users to create games and play other games made by other users.
It’s one of the biggest gaming spaces in the world, with more than 58.8 million daily active users and over 40 million playable games.
AO Adventure is part of Tennis Australia’s strategy to attract young people to the sport – which makes sense, given more than 80 per cent of Roblox users are 25 and under.
“Launching AO Adventure on Roblox provides the Australian Open with a huge opportunity to reach new audiences and global markets, via one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world,” the Open’s senior Metaverse, NFT, Web3 and cryptocurrency manager, Ridley Plummer, said.
“It’s also a great platform for us to connect with younger fans, who we hope will be inspired to visit the AO in person one day after experiencing what the AO has to offer, beyond tennis.”
The Australian Open has called in one big player to help promote their digital efforts – Nick Kyrgios.
Australia’s highest-ranked men’s tennis player is set to greet players as they arrive in the virtual Melbourne Park – and apparently he’ll have a few jokes in store for them.
AO Adventure is a smash-hit. The virtual playground has already been visited a whopping 414,000 times.
Considering around 812,000 people visited the real-life tournament in 2020, that’s an impressive feat.
AO Adventure is apparently filled with a bunch of interactive games and activities, so TND logged on to see what it’s all about.
Welcome to Melbourne Park
As a casual gamer, I had never played on Roblox before.
But I needn’t have worried because it was pretty easy to get started.
It took no time to create an account, download the game and start playing.
I searched ‘Australian Open’, clicked ‘play’, and I was in.
But to my great disappointment, Nick Kyrgios was nowhere to be found.
In the game’s description, it does say that an AO Superstar “will join us soon”, so maybe we’ll see him pop up when the tournament starts.
After getting over my disappointment, I was struck by the game’s incredible likeness to the real Melbourne Park.
As a Melburnian, I instantly recognised the iconic surrounding landmarks.
There’s Flinders Street Station, Federation Square and, of course, John Cain Arena and Rod Laver Arena.
There’s even the beer gardens, practice courts and sponsor activations that you find at the tournament.
I began to have a little look around, and instantly found myself on one of the many tennis courts in the area.
Since there (sadly) wasn’t anyone nearby, I played against an AI NPC (non-player character).
The gameplay itself was a little clunky. Think Wii Sports tennis, but with a little less control over what you’re doing.
But I’m proud to say that I pushed through and still won.
Next, I wandered over to Rod Laver Arena to find that there was a court there, too.
Not going to lie, it felt pretty good jumping on Centre Court – and someone even joined me to play.
After earning a few coins, I went on up to the store.
There were a few equip-able sweatbands and mullets up for purchase, but I had nowhere near enough coins.
High in the sky
I took another walk around the park to find the Emirates Ball Park.
I greeted the flight attendant and she gave me a passport – which ticked one of my achievement boxes.
The Emirates Ball Park is undoubtably the best area on the map.
To the right are some stairs. Once you climb them, they lead to bouncy clouds, ice cream cones and beach ball platforms that take you high up into the sky – much like a virtual version of Wipeout.
If you make it to the top, as I did, you win an Emirates costume, which transforms you into a cute jet plane.
Plus, you get to see Melbourne Park from high up in the sky, which is pretty neat.
Back to planet earth
I took a teleport back down to earth, and felt like another game of tennis.
I headed back to the tennis courts, to find two players looking for doubles partners.
So I jumped in, and my original singles partner also tagged on.
I thought we were doing pretty well, having some good rallies.
But then my partner told me to stay on my own side.
I obliged, and after they hit a few balls out, it was game over.
Oh well, it was all a bit of fun.
I walked back to the centre of the park once more, where I found a few other areas.
There’s a sandpit with beach chairs, exactly as there is at the real event.
There’s even a snacks and drinks bar where you can socialise with other players, and a dance floor with an AO DJ.
The verdict
Overall, AO Adventure was a good time.
The attention to detail is definitely there, and it really is a spitting image of the real thing.
It would be even more fun logging on with family and friends, so you can play games of tennis together.
But if you’re not big on gaming, you won’t need to wait much longer for the real thing.
The Australian Open begins on January 16 at Melbourne Park, and TND will be there to give you the latest details on all the hot matches.
You can learn more about the AO Adventure Roblox game here.
